2010 LEGENDS CLASSIC

Well boy's it's Classic Time again. After resting up for the past fourteen months a date has been set: MARCH 26th at "The House That BONNER Built" the Skatium.
Although it will be difficult to top last years tilt at the Spectrum a great time is expected. The usual cast of characters will be on hand including eight or ten guys that have played in every Classic to date. And as always we will welcome some new Legends. We have also changed the venue, having moved the game from the friendly confines of the Springfield Ice Rink. This was bound to happen sooner or later with how big the game has become along with the level of play we are expecting Springfield was just not big enough. Not to mention all the fans that may turn out to watch.
I look forward to seeing all you guys & playing some good hockey, as always if you know of anyone with ties to Collingdale that might be interested in playing let them know the date & time.

2009 CLASSIC @ THE SPECTRUM

What can be said about this years Classic? One word UNBELIEVABLE, in every aspect; atmosphere, turnout & quality of play, honestly it was as much fun as I have ever had playing hockey. Just to be able to play on the same ice as so many great Flyers teams with my son, brother, cousins & some of my closest friends was something very special. Think about all the great players to play in this building, Clarke,Parent,Barber,& all the rest that have their names on two Stanley Cups. Or what about the guys like Lindberg,Kerr,Hextall,Howe(Mark & Gordie) Lindros,Leclair & the hundreds of other Flyers down through the years. Not to mention all the visiting players, Bobby Orr,the Espisito brothers, all those great Canadian teams, the French Connection, the Islanders of the early 80's followed by Gretzky & Messier leading the Oilers & Mario. The Russians had the balls to leave this surface but it was only to change their skirts, how many guys from Collingdale can say they played in the same crease as Parent, Tretiak & Brodeur.
The best part of about this game were the guys WE were playing with, no matter your age it was like we were kids again. Pat,Freddy & all the other 40 year olds played as many shifts as they could like Joey McCloskey & Tommy Phillips. Tommy Mac had a hattrick & he only plays once a year while his son Jimmy, one of the best young Legends, was held without a goal. We welcomed a few new Legends this year, Kevin Timlin,Mike Hennessy,Rob Mattai,Rob Toomey,Dan O'Laughin,Tommy Phillips,Joey Christopher& Phil Dauria. Their play showed they are worthy of their legendary status & guess what, they get it they all said they will be back to play every year. Zach Kilgore was back in goal & he stopped several good scoring chances & held the lead late in the game but Johnny K & Jimmy Maletesta decided to make it a game. Everyone on the bench turned it up a notch, Kirk Kuzmick,Joey Henderson,Bob Kilgore & Ed Regan did a lot of the dirty work while Jeff Craskey,Rich Howland,Sean Watson & Dan Murphy got most of the chances. There efforts would get cut the lead to one goal but that was as close as the Blue would get.
It was great to see Lud back at this years Classic who returned along with Rob McCarry, and Kevin Kuzmick played in his second game as a Legend & looked a bit less nervous this time around. Some of the older guys, myself included, seemed to be imitating their hockey heroes. Dan Straube took to the ice with the image of Orest Kinderchuck in his head & Jimmy Donohue could have been Rick MacLeish. Sean Mac was back & seemed to enjoy all the room on the larger ice surface rather than skating in that shoebox at Springfield. Sean Kane did his best Steven Speilberg impersonation as we checked in & then went on to play like a teenager once we hit the ice. Tommy Henderson was smiling ear to ear all night & was another guy that played like a little kid on Christmas morning just like he has every other year. As is the case with most Classics there was a reunion of a dynamic duo from years past, Louis McCloskey & Craig Eberhardt. These two used to terrorized the THL back in the early 80's & continue to show flashes of there old selves, just like rest of us. Guess that's why we are Legends.
After the game there was beer to drink & tales to tell, the club box was packed. At times it looked like we had all 35 players along with all 127 fans jammed in there. Watson's stories still crack everyone up so we were all happy to see Sammy & Peanut who swore they're all true. By the end of the night Craig had a pretty good spring league team lined up.
Dominic Petracelli did a nice job with the announcing & Pop Pop McCloskey & Mr.Kuz helped out in the boxes. The McCloskey's had three generations involved in this years Classic. Pat Doherty reached out to his brother-in-law to help us out with pictures, thanks John you did a wonderful job. Anyone interested in a copy of the disc just let me know. I will get in touch with you guys to see if you want to play again some time in the spring.
Finally, I need to thank Craig, all of this was possible because of his leg work. Thanks Craig I know how much you did to let me pretend to be Bernie Parent just like I did when I wrapped my legs in sofa cushions.

LEGENDS AT THE SPECTRUM

With the announcment by Ed Snider of the closing of the Spectrum I thought it would only be right to try get the Classic on the hallowed ice. All I had to do was mention it to Craig and he took control of the situation, this is what he came up with.

We can rent the ice for an hour and a half, from 4to 5:30, then have a Club Box with beer & food included for the Phantoms game that night. The price is $3500, or about $100 a man, as of today, July 29 the only Saturday home date is January 24,2008. If we can get three lines & two goalies that would put us at 32 palyers, the box holds 40. We can work out the numbers when we have commitments.

As usuall the skate is open to all LEGENDS, but we do have to put a cap on the amount of people in the box, so I will not plan on asking any new skaters until we know we will need them, Im pretty sure we will need them. If you happen to read this pass the word that way we can start planning.

Hey guys just wanted to let you know that we were able to raise over $2200 for Richie through the lottery. Although all of the tickets did not sell, the Daily Number cooperated as the winning ticket sat unsold in the pile that had been returned, meaning all the money collected went right to Rich. I dropped it off the Tuesday after Memorial Day, needless to say everyone was grateful & could not express how thankful they were. Richie asked me to pass on his thanks to everyone. I would also like to thank everyone that sold the tickets, if I can ever help you out with anything please let me know & remember to keep him in your prayers.

Joe

LEGENDS 2008

Well another Classic has come and gone, and as usual it was a blast! We had a great turn out, most of the regulars were there along with some rookies.
The Blue squad was led by Zach Kilgore in goal, his performance would solidify his Legendary status. Up front the Blue team had some of the most talented Legends ever to play "take it back pass the line" hockey on Andrews Ave, Johnny K, Freddy, Pat, & Louis teamed with Sean Kane, Dan Straube, Tommy Mac & Jeff Craskey to push the tempo & make sure the game would be played at top speed. The Blue boys also welcomed two new Legends, Chuck Lafferty, the oldest Legend to date who called Hollywood Place home back in the '70's & Kevin Kuzmick who dug out his old high school equipment & found out he had gained a few pounds. Both guys played like true Legends.
The Orange team also had a load of skilled players, another Andrews Ave. alum Sean Mac returned after missing our last tilt & teamed with the speedy Craig Eberhardt, Kirk Kuzmick, Tommy "Bomber" Henderson, Richey Howland & Ed Regan along with our Sharon Hill transplant Jimmy "Shooter" Donohue to challenge the Blue in every phase of the game. The Orange also had Bob "Spongee" Kilgore facing & scoring on his son Zach, happy fathers day Bob it was a gift. Jimmy Malatesta was the rookie on the Orange squad & he vowed through his beer goggles at Nick's to never miss another Classic. Once again I was in goal & unfortunately will have to wait until next year to get that shut-out, but by standing back there I get to see some interesting hockey. It's funny how quickly the game heats up, one shift & everyone is flying, different generations click as if they had been playing together forever & the guys that have played together pick up right were they left off. The younger guys can really play, Jimmy Mac & young Joey McCloskey were unbelievable, two of the fastest players, although not by much, & along with Zach some of the most talented. Skating along side their fathers it is hard to figure out where the skill comes from. Their stamina was important to the health of the older Legends. Next to these two kids some of the oldest Legends appear to be skating at about the speed of fingernail growth.
That being said it turned out to be a good game, pretty goals, ugly goals, big shots, great saves & a lot of snow on the uniforms . Today I am sure of a few things; more than a few guys are a little/a lot sore, more than a few guys are hungover, Freddy will do anything to score a goal & next years game is right around the corner.
Freddy did a great job on the t-shirts, the design is awesome. There are some left sizes xl & 2xl, $20 each. A couple guys mentioned jerseys, we will look into it & get back to everyone with a price, same thing with golf shirts. There was also talk about doing this twice a year, lets rest up & sometime during the summer I will see what kind of interest there is & go from there. In the meantime, let anyone that might be a Legend know about the game & get them out here for the next one.
Thanks for coming out, hope everyone had a good time, hope to see you next time.
Joe

FLYERS GAME

Guys, Sorry about the start time , I can't believe they pushed the Flyer's to Friday night. At least it is only the first game. I will see if the rink can put it on the radio, that way we can be inspired by Brian Propp. Just think by Sundays game two we will be so stiff we will have to stay on the couch & watch.See you Friday, Joe

ONE WEEK AWAY

Well we are just a week from the Fourth annual COLLINGDALE LEGENDS CLASSIC, I expect most of the usual players to be there, & as we have done in the past we hope to have some new skaters join us. Freddy has designed a new logo & is making new t-shirts they look sharp & the Coughlin Cup will be on hand. We get the ice at 7:30 but the last few years the rink has been free prior to our time slot, I have used this time to let my little guy skate for a bit.
If you know of anyone that may be coming but not playing ask if they would bring a digital camera so we can update the blog pictures. Also figure on having a few beers in the locker room & heading to Nick's for a roast beef sandwich.
Don't forget to sharpen your skates. WILL SAMMY SKATE THIS YEAR?

Joe